Dem Lawmakers Want Trans Hormone Restrictions Rolled Back Even More

Dem Lawmakers Want Trans Hormone Restrictions Rolled Back Even More

Laurel Duggan on March 15, 2023

Congressional Democrats are pushing for the deregulation of cross-sex hormones offered to females who identify as transgender as the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) comes to a close, according to Axios.

The PHE allowed providers to prescribe drugs by telemedicine, including testosterone, that would normally require in-person visits, according to Axios. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Department of Health and Human Services have proposed allowing 30-day prescriptions by telemedicine followed by a mandatory in-person visit to continue the prescription, but Democrats are pushing to make the drug accessible with no in-person appointments indefinitely.

“While I appreciate the DEA’s efforts to remove barriers to health care, we need to do more to ensure that accessing testosterone for transgender and gender non-conforming communities isn’t burdensome, complicated, or delayed,” Democratic California Rep. Sara Jacobs told Axios.

Unlike estrogen, which is used by males who identify as transgender, testosterone is considered a controlled substance due to its abuse by athletes as a performance-enhancing drug.

“[W]e cannot allow the critical tools that were developed to connect patients to care to sunset along with [the PHE],” Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey told the outlet. He also said the Biden administration should “expand, not roll back, gender and life-affirming care for trans people.”

Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal said “[m]aintaining and expanding access to gender-affirming care is more important than ever,” referencing the push by Republican-led states to restrict sex-change procedures, according to Axios.

Several states have moved in recent months to ban sex-change procedures for minors including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries amid growing concern about the treatments’ safety and efficacy.